'You gotta die on your sword': Fever focus is internal, emphasizing execution and pace ahead of elimination game
'You gotta die on your sword': Fever focus is internal, emphasizing execution and pace ahead of elimination game
The Indiana Fever aren't ready for their season to end. They're back where it started, and Game 2 is a must-win game. It starts with matching Connecticut's physicality, defending, then running.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The inexperience factor played a big part in the Indiana Fever’s Game 1 loss.
Caught up in the officiating, missed calls, and even multiple shot-clock errors from the scorer’s table. Shots didn’t fall, they got lackadaisical on defense and that won’t win at any time.
They believe coaches Jessie Miller and Jhared Simpson had a great scouting report, one they simply did not execute. Adjustments are inevitable going from Game 1 to Game 2 in the playoffs. However, the Fever are focused on keeping the main thing the main thing and executing what they’ve been talking about since they arrived in Connecticut last Thursday.
“I think we did a pretty good job on the initial actions that they were running,” said head coach Christie Sides. “And then as the ball started moving and we started maybe watching it a little bit too much. Then we weren't ready for whenever they would have a kick-out…
“I don't think we did a great job of making it really hard on them, especially with some of the shots that they took. They shot them all extremely well. I mean, (Marina) Mabrey hit 3s. I felt like every time she shot it, it was going in. But I think we could have done a better job in handling some of the actions that she got those 3s in.”
The Sun shot nearly 50%, won the paint, 3-point line, and transition. Mabrey came off the bench to score 20 of her 27 points in the final 20 minutes. That got the ball rolling for the Sun, who led by as many as 26 points and outscored the Fever in all four quarters.
“We know we're capable of beating this team because we have done it,” Caitlin Clark said Tuesday before practice.
“Obviously, they're really, really good and we know it'll be a challenge. But I don't think it's anything we're shying away from. I think you just embrace the challenge. We know we didn't give our best and maybe the final score really seems like we did get blown out. But we had it to six points, we had it to eight points. It was just we could never really get over the hump…”
“We had good schemes, we just weren't always executing them. So it just comes down to execution and really being detail-oriented. And I think at times, they almost beat us at our own game. I felt like their pace was really good, pushing in transition.”
Kelsey Mitchell (21 points) and Aliyah Boston (17) were the two Fever players to get it going offensively. They’re leaning more on veterans Temi Fagbenle and Damiris Dantas. And they need to play through Boston more, especially on the low block, and get into their actions. We’ve seen all season how sometimes when the first action isn’t there, it disrupts their flow and rhythm.
There was no offensive flow or rhythm for the Fever on Sunday.
With two days between games, the team met on Monday and then got shots up. Then they practiced for about an hour on Tuesday, beginning with an important film session.